Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News

Today in the MHSAA: 2/24/2020

February 24, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor 

A championship-filled weekend saw Regional champs celebrated in wrestling, District winners hoist trophies in competitive cheer and league title earners rise in basketball, hockey and bowling.

1. Competitive Cheer: Allen Park finished first and Dearborn Divine Child in a power-packed Division 2 District – Southgate News-Herald

2. Boys Basketball: River Rouge downed Benton Harbor 58-52 in a matchup of title hopefuls in two divisions – MLive-Detroit

3. Boys Basketball: Mason Wojtusik went over 1,000 career points as Mount Pleasant defeated Saginaw 64-53 to clinch the Saginaw Valley League North title – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

4. Wrestling: Six champions led 12 Brighton wrestlers total to qualify for the Division 1 Individual Finals at Saturday’s Regional – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Girls Basketball: Farmington Hills Mercy downed Bloomfield Hills Marian 51-40 to win the Detroit Catholic League Bishop championship – State Champs Sports Network

6. Girls Basketball: Ann Arbor Huron clinched the Southeastern Conference Red title with a 60-47 win over Ann Arbor Pioneer – We Love Ann Arbor

7. Hockey: Muskegon Mona Shores scored two third-period goals to get past Hudsonville 3-2 and clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Fischer championship – Local Sports Journal

8. Hockey: A big win over Lenawee United gave Dexter its second-straight Southeastern Conference White title – Chelsea Sun Times News 

9. Bowling: The Traverse City Christian girls and Cadillac boys clinched Great Northwest High School Bowling Conference championships – Traverse City Record-Eagle

10. Girls Basketball: Byron claimed its first outright league title in this sport since 1990 with a 57-25 win over New Lothrop – Mid-Michigan Now

Also of note …

Basketball: The Big Bay de Noc girls and Kinross Maplewood Baptist boys won Northern Lights League Tournament championships – Escanaba Daily Press

Basketball: Reagan Rose set a Decatur scoring record against Hartford, and Marcellus’ Kaeler Stafne and Bloomingdale’s Tyler Starbuck both went over 1,000 career points in Marcellus’ win – WWMT

Girls Basketball: Kent City clinched the Central State Activities Association Silver title with a big win over Hesperia – Local Sports Journal

Girls Basketball: Flushing earned a share of the Flint Metro League Stripes title with a 45-20 win over Swartz Creek – Mid-Michigan Now

Girls Basketball: Deckerville clinched a share of the North Central Thumb League Stars title with a big win over Mayville – Huron Daily Tribune

Hockey: Jackson Lumen Christi clinched its league title with a 2-0 win over Mattawan – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Boys Basketball: Owen Franklin went over 1,000 career points for Oscoda in its win over Hale – WBKB

Girls Basketball: Negaunee defeated Ishpeming Westwood 43-33, and Westwood’s Tessa Leece went over 1,000 career points – Marquette Mining Journal 

Girls Basketball: Algonac fell to Croswell-Lexington, but Algonac’s Emily Nugent went over 1,000 career points – Port Huron Times-Herald

Girls Basketball: From Thursday, Mackinaw City downed Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian to clinch a second-straight Northern Lakes Conference title – Petoskey News-Review